Anyone taking Lexapro? Have taken it before?

[Zysoclaplem]

Went to the doctor for depression, anxiety, ocd and sleep issues. Prescribed me 10mg lexapro daily for a few weeks then bumping it to 20. Worried about side effects and gaining weight. Anyone here take it?

 

[moshquerade]

Hopefully the med will make you feel better and not worse.

Side effects of Lexapro, also called escitalopram, that you might experience while taking this, commonly prescribed, drug for depression include:

• Trouble sleeping
• Headaches
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Nausea or indigestion
• Sweating
• Changes in taste
• Decreased sexual function or low libido
• Fever
• Shakiness or tremors
• Appetite changes either increased or decreased
• Frequent need to urinate
• Blurred vision
• Diarrhea

While these side effects usually do not require medical intervention, you should report them to your health care provider if they continue for over one week or if they interfere with your daily routine.
Less common, but potentially more serious, side effects of Lexapro that you should report to your health care provider immediately include:

• Vomiting
• Suicidal thoughts
• Hives, itching, or other skin reactions
• Dizziness or feeling lightheaded
• Feeling over excited, that you cannot control your actions, or rapid talking
• Feeling confused

• http://womenshealth.about.com/od/depression/a/lexaprosideeffe.htm

 

[nboy22]

When I was taking it, the main issue I had was sexual performance.... It makes it really hard for some people to blow a load.

I stopped taking it once I realized my girlfriend at the time was causing me to be depressed, once I got rid of her everything went back to normal and I was no longer depressed. Also I have stress issues, so I just started taking L-Theanine for that. L-Theanine has worked wonders for me to relieve my stress

 

[highland145]

Gained weight (+20, iirc) but I sure didn't give a crap at the time. So it did what it was supposed to on that level.

 

[Platypus]

I'd avoid that shit like the plague but I'm not a doctor.

 

[moshquerade]

I'd avoid that shit like the plague but I'm not a doctor.

These are my thoughts too. : /

Unless you are a severely depressed SSRIs are not going to help you.
Also, a gen doc should not be prescribing anti depressants. Only a psychiatrist should.

 

[highland145]

These are my thoughts too. : /

I wouldn't have except the wife (fam/marriage counselor for her 2nd job) said I was depressed. Come to find out I'm just a grumpy bastard.:sneaky:

 

[moshquerade]

I wouldn't have except the wife (fam/marriage counselor for her 2nd job) said I was depressed. Come to find out I'm just a grumpy bastard.:sneaky:

handing out pills like that like candy. sounds like you're another that didn't need them.

 

[Platypus]

it's more the 'throw shit at the wall and see what sticks' philosophy so many of these doctors seem to adopt as their modus operandi that scares me...

good luck OP

 

[bobdole369]

Comments redacted

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Well the doctor did suggest I see a psychiatrist. I haven't picked up the prescription yet and may not. On the other side, it may actually help me.

 

[MWink]

I was on it for a year or so a long time ago. My experience with it was not positive. It didn't make me feel much better but I did get some negative side effects. I guess the only good thing was I lost about 50 pounds when I was on it.

After that I tried Effexor XR and it worked a LOT better and had more positive side effects than negative ones. The biggest problem with Effexor was it made me want to sleep all the time. Also once you are on it it is sheer HELL trying to get off of it. I finally got off of it about a month ago and it was torture, even with tapering down slowly. Just a note, these are MY experiences. These drugs can work very differently for different people.

 

[manlymatt83]

Well the doctor did suggest I see a psychiatrist. I haven't picked up the prescription yet and may not. On the other side, it may actually help me.

Do you exercise? How's your diet? Have you tried talking to a therapist? Do you think there's anything in your life that could be causing the depression without you knowing it?

 

[bobdole369]

If you can afford it they wont hurt to pick it up. Antidepressants really do belong in the hands of a pdoc (psychiatrist) but the drug "is" appropriate for the symptoms. If u dont mind going to pm's or posting here, I can point u towards literature and forums that deal with OCD and can help with figuring out what ails ya. I think its most important to learn about how you work and keep an open mind about your life in general.

 

[OCGuy]

Not to ruin the thread, but I hope you exhausted all other options before taking chemicals.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Took it for about 6 months. Gave me diarrhea (not joking).

 

[yhelothar]

I took it for a bit. It made me want to sleep all the time and my libido actually went through the roof.
I ended up not finishing my first dose and not going back, which I regret a bit since that doctor was really good.
But now when I start getting shitty thoughts and anxious, I eat a carb snack like a granola bar and it chills me out like none other. The negative thoughts magically goes away and any nausea from the anxiety goes away, as well as the anxiety itself. It's almost a magic cureall for when I feel shitty.

If your serotonin functioning isn't too far down in the gutter, this is a great alternative as ingesting carbs by itself can increase your brain's serotonin concentrations.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/61/2/312
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0515.html

But even more importantly, make sure that you've at least tried getting a good diet by eating at least 3 meals a day with balanced nutrition throughout the food groups before resorting to the meds.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Well I run almost every day. I eat very healthy. My oxygen level at the doctors office was 98. My pulse was in the 40s. All my blood tests came back perfect. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about 15. I don't think that stuff goes away, and I have been told by just about everyone I know I am depressed although I don't see it. I don't feel sad, but I also never feel happy. Anywhoooo

So I took my first Lexapro today. Within 20 minutes I had my first panic attack in a long time. It did something to my vision and hearing for a few minutes and I had some type of reaction that cause my skin to feel weird. It wasn't a placebo effect or anything. That went away within 10-15 minutes. Felt fine all day afterwords. Had a bit more energy than usual.

Also, not to be gross, but I attempted to have an orgasm to test what I have heard about Lexapro and orgasms. It was impossible. I think I would have bursted a blood vessel in my head before anything else. It just would not happen.

I'm not sure if I want to continue taking the pills.

 

[Lounatik]

I fell off of my truck at work and landed on my head and got a pretty bad concussion. Had to see a neurologist because it was pretty bad. No sleeping, agitation and a constant ringing in my ears, Brain doc gave me Lexapro because he said that the seratonin levels in your brain bottom out when you get a bad enough concussion. So I took them for about 4 months. Kinda kept me on the super mellow side of things. Like I did not care one way or the other about anything. I really didnt like that, so I went off of it cold turkey. You want to talk about Mr. Toads Wild Ride. Holy shit, the flashes whenever you turn your head ( google lexapro and flashes) , the dry mouth, and the dreams. Oh my fucking word, the dreams. They would start as soon as I would shut me eyes and race on until I woke up. Shit is no fun.Once you get on this crap, you might as well stay on it the rest of your life.

Also, I do know how stupid it is to quit this crap like I did, but bear in mind that I have no mental problems, mine were physical, so the cold turkey thing probably wouldn't be the wise thing to do for you.



Peace

Lounatik

 

[MetalMat]

These are my thoughts too. : /

Unless you are a severely depressed SSRIs are not going to help you.
Also, a gen doc should not be prescribing anti depressants. Only a psychiatrist should.

Yeah if you are just down in the dumps for a few days or weeks or so those anti-depressants wont do a whole lot of good.

I thought I was depressed after my dad passed away. Took Wellbutrin for a few months, I found it honestly did nothing. Quit cold turkey. I guess I was not depressed, but then again Wellbutrin is a different type of anti-depressant....

A while back I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but I dont take anything for it and never did. Sometimes I get some real mood swings (ask some of the girls I dated) & go from wayyyy overconfident to the opposite but I just deal with it, its a part of life

I have no problem with people taking SSRI if they help, I just think that other things should be tried out before going directly for drugs.

 

[MJinZ]

It's funny, I think I remember being actually depressed for about 2 weeks when I was young, may 12 or 13 years old.

And I've never been depressed again. Heart broken, sad, all that stuff for longer and much more painful ... but the depression was different. The depression didn't really make me feel much of anything. Except sleep.

 

[MetalMat]

Well I run almost every day. I eat very healthy. My oxygen level at the doctors office was 98. My pulse was in the 40s. All my blood tests came back perfect. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about 15. I don't think that stuff goes away, and I have been told by just about everyone I know I am depressed although I don't see it. I don't feel sad, but I also never feel happy. Anywhoooo

So I took my first Lexapro today. Within 20 minutes I had my first panic attack in a long time. It did something to my vision and hearing for a few minutes and I had some type of reaction that cause my skin to feel weird. It wasn't a placebo effect or anything. That went away within 10-15 minutes. Felt fine all day afterwords. Had a bit more energy than usual.

Also, not to be gross, but I attempted to have an orgasm to test what I have heard about Lexapro and orgasms. It was impossible. I think I would have bursted a blood vessel in my head before anything else. It just would not happen.

I'm not sure if I want to continue taking the pills.

No idea why that would happen, Lexapro does nothing until you take it for at least a few weeks I think. Might be a placebo effect my man

 

[erikistired]

i take it. keeps me level. prescribed by a psychiatrist, not a general physician. i actually tried coming off of it for a bit, but my wife demanded i go back on. i'm apparently not tolerable otherwise.

also, it takes quite awhile for it to start working. if you're having side effects already (day one?) it's probably not from the lexapro.

the side effects i have are sleepiness, i'm tired a lot. the sexual thing comes and goes, but it hasn't kept me from performing, just takes a bit longer sometimes.

you should really consider seeing a psychiatrist.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Well I run almost every day. I eat very healthy. My oxygen level at the doctors office was 98. My pulse was in the 40s. All my blood tests came back perfect. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about 15. I don't think that stuff goes away, and I have been told by just about everyone I know I am depressed although I don't see it. I don't feel sad, but I also never feel happy. Anywhoooo

So I took my first Lexapro today. Within 20 minutes I had my first panic attack in a long time. It did something to my vision and hearing for a few minutes and I had some type of reaction that cause my skin to feel weird. It wasn't a placebo effect or anything. That went away within 10-15 minutes. Felt fine all day afterwords. Had a bit more energy than usual.

Also, not to be gross, but I attempted to have an orgasm to test what I have heard about Lexapro and orgasms. It was impossible. I think I would have bursted a blood vessel in my head before anything else. It just would not happen.

I'm not sure if I want to continue taking the pills.

LOL. It takes 1-2 weeks for them to have any affect.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I fell off of my truck at work and landed on my head and got a pretty bad concussion. Had to see a neurologist because it was pretty bad. No sleeping, agitation and a constant ringing in my ears, Brain doc gave me Lexapro because he said that the seratonin levels in your brain bottom out when you get a bad enough concussion. So I took them for about 4 months. Kinda kept me on the super mellow side of things. Like I did not care one way or the other about anything. I really didnt like that, so I went off of it cold turkey. You want to talk about Mr. Toads Wild Ride. Holy shit, the flashes whenever you turn your head ( google lexapro and flashes) , the dry mouth, and the dreams. Oh my fucking word, the dreams. They would start as soon as I would shut me eyes and race on until I woke up. Shit is no fun.Once you get on this crap, you might as well stay on it the rest of your life.

Also, I do know how stupid it is to quit this crap like I did, but bear in mind that I have no mental problems, mine were physical, so the cold turkey thing probably wouldn't be the wise thing to do for you.



Peace

Lounatik

You can't just go cold turkey without withdrawal effects. You need to wean yourself off slowly by reducing the dosage weekly til you're off them.